What Is Simon Helberg's Net Worth and Salary?
Simon Helberg is an American actor who has a net worth of $55 million. Simon Helberg is best known for his work on the show "The Big Bang Theory." He starred on the show from 2007 to 2019, appearing in all 279 of the show's episodes. At his peak during the series, Simon was one of the world's highest-paid television actors. His $1 million per episode salary translated into around $22 million per year in earnings.
Early Life
Simon Helberg was born on December 9, 1980, in Los Angeles, California. He's the son of actor Sandy Helberg and casting director Harriet Helberg. His paternal grandparents were Polish Jews who survived the Holocaust and moved to the United States after World War II. Helberg originally intended to focus on karate and earned his black belt when he was 10, but shifted his focus to theater in high school. He subsequently attended The Tisch School of the Arts and was a student at The Atlantic Theater School. Helberg's roommate at New York University was fellow actor and friend Jason Ritter. The two had also attended high school together.
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Early Career
Helberg started out performing with comedian Derek Waters in the early 2000s in the sketch comedy duo Derek & Simon. In 2007, the pair starred together in a web series, "Derek & Simon: The Show." They created the web series with the help of comedian Bob Odenkirk for the comedy website Super Deluxe. They also made two short films, one co-starring Zach Galifianakis and Bill Hader titled "Derek & Simon, The Pity Card," and "Derek & Simon: A Bee and a Cigarette," co-starring Casey Wilson and Emily Rutherfurd.
He began his professional acting career with minor and guest starring roles on television and on film, in such projects as "Popular," "Cursed," "Son of the Beach," "Undeclared," "Van Wilder," and "Old School." One of Helberg's earliest roles on TV was a brief stint as part of the cast on "MADtv" in 2002. In 2004, Simon was in two episodes of "Reno 911!," and later that year, he appeared alongside Hilary Duff and Chad Michael Murray in "A Cinderella Story." Helberg had a minor role in George Clooney's 2005 blockbuster film "Good Night, and Good Luck".
Later, in 2005, he had a small part on "Arrested Development" as Jeff, an employee of the film studio where Maeby (Alia Shawkat) worked. From 2006 to 2007, Helberg had a supporting role in the drama "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," on which he honed impressive impersonations of Nicolas Cage, Tom Cruise, and Ben Stiller. In 2006, he appeared in a series of comedic TV commercials for Richard Branson's UK financial company Virgin Money. Helberg played a small role in the 2007 film "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story," which has become a cult classic.
"The Big Bang Theory"
Simon became a household name when he was cast as Howard Wolowitz in the hit sitcom, "The Big Bang Theory" in 2007. In 2014, his salary per episode was raised to $800,000. Between June 2015 and June 2016, Helberg earned $23 million. He appeared in 279 episodes across the 12-season series from 2007 to 2019. The show earned 7 Emmy Awards over the course of its run and picked up numerous nominations along the way. Helberg won a Critics' Choice Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his work as Howard.
"The Big Bang Theory" Salary
In the later seasons of the show, Simon earned $1 million per episode of "The Big Bang Theory." That worked out to $22-24 million per year in total earnings for at least two seasons. He had previously been earning $800,000 per episode.
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Other Work
While he was filming "The Big Bang Theory," Helberg participated in a pilot episode of the Judd Apatow-produced sitcom "Undeclared." He also appeared as the character Moist in the web series "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog." In 2009, Simon played the role of junior Rabbi Scott Ginsler in the Coen brothers film "A Serious Man." In 2013, he appeared in the Atlanta episode of "Drunk History." Helberg voiced Napoleon in 2014 on three episodes of "The Tom and Jerry Show." That same year, Helberg worked as an actor, director, writer, and producer alongside his real-life wife on the comedy "We'll Never Have Paris."
In 2016, Simon scored a starring role opposite Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant in Stephen Frears' "Florence Foster Jenkins." He played a pianist named Cosme McMoon, and his performance was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture. Helberg is next set to star opposite Adam Driver in "Annette." He is also slated to star in "As Sick as They Made Us," written and directed by his "Big Bang Theory" co-star Mayim Bialik and co-starring Dustin Hoffman.
Personal Life
Helberg and his wife, actress Jocelyn Towne, have been married since July 2007. They have two children.
Outside of his acting talents, Simon is also a highly skilled and accomplished pianist. He is a dedicated Liberal Democrat and supported Bernie Sanders' presidential campaigns in both 2016 and 2020. He has been a long-time supporter of the charity Save the Children.
Real Estate
In 2011, Simon and Jocelyn paid $2.9 million for a home that was being sold by Charlie Sheen.
In May 2019, they paid $6.9 million for a home in LA's Los Feliz neighborhood. Vince Vaughn and Kate Bosworth (separately) were both previous owners. Simon and Jocelyn listed this home for sale in April 2022 for $9.875 million. They lowered the price to just under $9 million in late January 2023. As of this writing, they appear to have not yet found a buyer.
In 2017, Simon and Jocelyn paid $5.1 million for a 6.5-acre horse property in Carpinteria, California, just south of Santa Barbara.
In February 2022, they paid $8.4 million for an 8,000-square-foot mansion in Pasadena, California. The mansion, which dates back to 1906, features 7 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms on 1.27 acres of property.
